Advances in a variety of fields have created uses for many types of new materials. In particular, a variety of chemical powders can be used in many different processing contexts. Inorganic powders can introduce desired functionality in various contexts. Similarly, polymers can be used to form a variety of devices in many fields. Various polymers are available to provide desired properties and/or functionalities for the appropriate application as well as providing versatility in processing.
Furthermore, technological advances have increased interest in improved material processing with strict tolerances on processing parameters. As miniaturization continues even further, material parameters will need to fall within stricter tolerances. Current integrated circuit technology already requires tolerances on processing dimensions on a submicron scale. The consolidation or integration of mechanical, electrical and optical components into integral devices has created further constraints on material processing. Composite materials can be used to combine desirable properties and/or processing capabilities of different materials to obtain improved materials and performances.
An explosion of communication and information technologies including interne based systems has motivated a world wide effort to implement optical communication networks to take advantage of a large bandwidth available with optical communication systems. Optical communication systems incorporate optical fibers for transmission and may include, for example, planar optical structures for manipulating optical signals in a smaller footprint. Formation of optical devices has been based alternatively on polymers or on inorganic materials, such as silica glasses.